He visited Catholic Charities of Houma-Thibodaux Thursday to meet with members of the local Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux to talk about the Catholic Relief Services' Rice Bowl program, which raises money for worldwide hunger relief programs each Lent.

Local Catholic Charities Executive Director Rob Gorman said Awiapo will also travel to schools in Baton Rouge and New Orleans to speak about his experiences.

Orphaned as a young child, Awiapo and his three brothers faced hunger and poverty. His two youngest brothers died of malnutrition and lack of care. His older brother left the village; Awiapo never saw him again. Neither of his parents had been to school and had no intention of sending their children to school.

But then, Catholic Relief Services opened up a school in his village. Awiapo saw the school gave food to the children there every day — a snack and a lunch.

“I loved the snack, but I hated the school,” he said. “I went, na´vely thinking they would say, ‘He is a miserable child. Let's give him the snack and send him away.'”

But he stayed each day to feed himself, and eventually he went to a Catholic high school and then won a scholarship to college. Today Awiapo is a graduate of the University of Ghana and holds a master's degree in public administration from California State University at Hayward. He is married with four children.

Awiapo has travelled the U.S. for the last 12 years acting as global solidarity coordinator with Catholic Relief Services in Ghana. He will spend the next eight weeks travelling to 12 states around the U.S. to promote Catholic Relief Services programs.

In addition to his work in the United States, Awiapo acts as an ambassador encouraging groups to come to Ghana to see Catholic Relief Services' work in person.

Catholic Relief Services in Ghana operates a variety of programs that aim to educate pregnant women about prenatal care and encourage them to give birth in hospitals. The agency provides care to patients with HIV, which carries a huge stigma in Africa, Awiapo said. It provides mosquito nets to mothers and babies, immunizations to children, incentives for families to educate their daughters and micro-finance programs to allow women to be more financially independent.

Awiapo also promoted the Rice Bowl program that connects to fasting during Lent, encouraging Catholics to think about hunger and poverty around the world and make sacrifices to help others. According to Catholic Relief Services, 25 percent of the money donated to the Rice Bowl program goes to hunger and poverty alleviation efforts in the local community. Seventy-five percent of those donations support Catholic Relief Services humanitarian programs worldwide.

Awiapo said he enjoys coming to the United States to work with children who may not understand the conditions others live in around the world.

He recalled telling his story in an auditorium of children. After giving the kids a moment of silence to reflect on what he said, the first boy who spoke vowed to never complain again about the speed of his Internet connection.

Awiapo compared that to a proverb about a man who went to church barefoot each day to pray to God for shoes. He did this until he came to church one day and met a man who couldn't walk.

“Children need to hear that there are places where other children study under trees because there are no classrooms,” he said. “Where 12 children spend the day studying with one textbook, and they are fighting for that textbook.”

People may wonder how the money they donate to these programs helps others, especially when they can only donate very little, Awiapo said.

But it was just a little snack each day at a Catholic Relief Services school that saved his life.

“It's the power of that little snack,” he said. “The problems may seem big, but amidst it all, that little kindness can mean a lot.”

For more information visit www.crsricebowl.org or www.htdiocese.org/ccht. You can also contact Catholic Charities of Houma-Thibodaux at 876-0490.

Nikki Buskey can be reached at 857-2205 or nicole.buskey@houmatoday.com.

<p>Many local Catholics donate to charity programs with the faith and hope their money will lift up the lives of others. </p><p>Each year, Catholic Relief services works in more than 100 countries to help 100 million of the world's poorest people.</p><p>Thomas Awiapo was one of those children. </p><p>It was a daily snack at a Catholic Relief Services school in his rural African village that put him on the path to an education and helped lift him out of poverty, he said.</p><p>Today, Awiapo is global solidarity coordinator with Catholic Relief Services in Ghana. </p><p>“Behind those figures are real human beings, real faces,” Awiapo said. </p><p>He visited Catholic Charities of Houma-Thibodaux Thursday to meet with members of the local Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux to talk about the Catholic Relief Services' Rice Bowl program, which raises money for worldwide hunger relief programs each Lent.</p><p>Local Catholic Charities Executive Director Rob Gorman said Awiapo will also travel to schools in Baton Rouge and New Orleans to speak about his experiences.</p><p>Orphaned as a young child, Awiapo and his three brothers faced hunger and poverty. His two youngest brothers died of malnutrition and lack of care. His older brother left the village; Awiapo never saw him again. Neither of his parents had been to school and had no intention of sending their children to school.</p><p>But then, Catholic Relief Services opened up a school in his village. Awiapo saw the school gave food to the children there every day — a snack and a lunch. </p><p>“I loved the snack, but I hated the school,” he said. “I went, na´vely thinking they would say, 'He is a miserable child. Let's give him the snack and send him away.'”</p><p>But he stayed each day to feed himself, and eventually he went to a Catholic high school and then won a scholarship to college. Today Awiapo is a graduate of the University of Ghana and holds a master's degree in public administration from California State University at Hayward. He is married with four children.</p><p>Awiapo has travelled the U.S. for the last 12 years acting as global solidarity coordinator with Catholic Relief Services in Ghana. He will spend the next eight weeks travelling to 12 states around the U.S. to promote Catholic Relief Services programs.</p><p>In addition to his work in the United States, Awiapo acts as an ambassador encouraging groups to come to Ghana to see Catholic Relief Services' work in person.</p><p>Catholic Relief Services in Ghana operates a variety of programs that aim to educate pregnant women about prenatal care and encourage them to give birth in hospitals. The agency provides care to patients with HIV, which carries a huge stigma in Africa, Awiapo said. It provides mosquito nets to mothers and babies, immunizations to children, incentives for families to educate their daughters and micro-finance programs to allow women to be more financially independent.</p><p>Awiapo also promoted the Rice Bowl program that connects to fasting during Lent, encouraging Catholics to think about hunger and poverty around the world and make sacrifices to help others. According to Catholic Relief Services, 25 percent of the money donated to the Rice Bowl program goes to hunger and poverty alleviation efforts in the local community. Seventy-five percent of those donations support Catholic Relief Services humanitarian programs worldwide.</p><p>Awiapo said he enjoys coming to the United States to work with children who may not understand the conditions others live in around the world. </p><p>He recalled telling his story in an auditorium of children. After giving the kids a moment of silence to reflect on what he said, the first boy who spoke vowed to never complain again about the speed of his Internet connection. </p><p>Awiapo compared that to a proverb about a man who went to church barefoot each day to pray to God for shoes. He did this until he came to church one day and met a man who couldn't walk.</p><p>“Children need to hear that there are places where other children study under trees because there are no classrooms,” he said. “Where 12 children spend the day studying with one textbook, and they are fighting for that textbook.”</p><p>People may wonder how the money they donate to these programs helps others, especially when they can only donate very little, Awiapo said.</p><p>But it was just a little snack each day at a Catholic Relief Services school that saved his life.</p><p>“It's the power of that little snack,” he said. “The problems may seem big, but amidst it all, that little kindness can mean a lot.”</p><p>For more information visit www.crsricebowl.org or www.htdiocese.org/ccht. You can also contact Catholic Charities of Houma-Thibodaux at 876-0490.</p><p>Nikki Buskey can be reached at 857-2205 or nicole.buskey@houmatoday.com.</p>